Donald Trump Says Democrats Only Won 2025 Elections Because His Name Wasn’t on the Ballot

Donald Trump has a theory about Republican losses in the 2025 midterm elections — and it’s centered around his absence from the ballot.

On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Democrats won big in multiple states, including New York, Virginia, New Jersey and California — with Zohran Mamdani winning a historic vote to become the first Muslim mayor of New York City.

As the results started coming in, Trump, 79, took to his Truth Social account to declare in all caps ” ‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT.’ ”

He then added that it was “according to Pollsters,” which might be a theory with some truth. According to The New York Times democratic voters have “overperformed in every nonpresidential election year since 2017.”

In comparison, the outlet noted that Republicans seem less likely to vote if the name Trump isn’t on the ballot.

The ongoing government shutdown was another reason that Trump theorized Republicans lost in key races. On Wednesday, Nov. 5, it set a record for the longest shutdown in U.S. history at 36 days.

Despite Trump’s protestations, Democrats did wind handily in multiple key votes, including ones where he backed candidates.

Exit polls conducted by CNN suggested that dissatisfaction with Trump and the Republicans helped give Democrats a boost in the elections.

Trump also set himself against Mamdani in the New York City race, going as far as to voice support for Democrat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required,” he posted on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

“Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”

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In another historic win in Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger became the first female governor.

In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill was elected governor, besting the Trump-backed candidate Jack Ciattarelli.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom also secured a win with the passing of Proposition 50, according to the Associated Press. The proposition led to the approval of a congressional map that netted the state a possible five additional Democratic seats in the House of Representatives.